Wing & Nien

by Shytei Corellian

  As if a spell had been broken, Carly twitched and blinked, glancing around. Everyone was still standing where they had been, waiting.

  Wing moved across the room to the cluster of makeshift beds and kneeling at the side of one, laid Hagen down.

  With the others, Carly stepped over to the bed.

  There was no sign of the decay anywhere on Hagen’s body. The small stump of his arm was a perfect pink colour, the upper part of his arm as well.

  Wing covered Hagen up, tucked the blankets in around him, and rose to his feet. Looking over the small, bewildered crowd, he smiled a little, eyes shining like a sunrise reflection upon the surface of a lake.

  “Let’s eat,” he said, and returned to the large duffel he’d left by the door.

  Neither Carly nor Nien had ever seen an entire fent disappear so fast — the jala berries and trin apples never made it into a bowl.

  “I can’t believe you did all that up there,” Carly said, beginning to clean up. “If Lant had known about all these mountain skills of yours he would have put you in charge of Cant survival training.”

  Wing took the wet rag from her hand. “I’ve often wondered what it would take to impress you.”

  Carly shook her head in dismay and her eyes softened. “Well, I suppose tracking, killing, preparing, and cooking an entire fent in the mountains — by yourself — is almost as impressive as healing a little boy.”

  Wing looked down at her.

  Carly touched his cheek. The very sight of his face, the feel of his skin struck her with such intensity that she felt physically weak. Wrapping her fingers in his shirt she pulled him down and pressed her lips against his neck.

  Wing shivered and he dropped the rag in his hand.

  “Looks like I’ll be finishing up here,” Nien said, bending over and picking up the rag. “As if we haven’t had enough excitement for one day.”

  “If you’ll excuse us,” Wing said, and taking Carly’s hand the two took the stairs to the bedroom at the top.

  Three days had passed and the new family that now lived under the Cawutt roof was getting to know its youngest member as an exuberant, healthy child. Hagen seemed not even to notice that there was less than half an arm on his right side. He was into, on top of, or hiding behind everything. A constant patrol had been implemented by the older boys, and by the time evenings rolled around everyone was ready for him to go to bed.

  At the end of one particularly trying evening, En’t and Jhock had fallen to their own bedrolls, blissful in the wake of silence that followed Hagen’s descent into sleep.

  Checking the windows and doors, Wing noticed Pree K sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire in contemplation. Offering to take first watch, Carly and Nien agreed, settling in for sleep.

  “Mind if I interrupt?” Wing asked, his calm tone a conduit for the pale blue light filling the cabin.

  Pree K looked up at Wing. “Please,” he said.

  “Are you all right?”

  Pree K was silent for a moment before responding. “Did you see my father before he died?”

  “Yes,” Wing said.

  “I figured,” Pree K replied. “When I found him in the hut, before he sent me to warn those that were in the Village — and to find you — I noticed a deep wound in his side. I tried to help him, but he turned me away, told me to carry out his request as quickly as possible.”

  “Some of his last words were of you,” Wing said. “But what with the burning of the homes and the Ka’ull closing in, I was forced from the Village.”

  “You were in the Village at the time of the burning?” Pree K asked.

  Wing nodded. “I was trying to ascertain where you might have gone after you came to me in the fields when the fires caught my attention. I ran into the Village hoping to catch the arsonist but failed when the Ka’ull engulfed the burning streets.” Pree K’s silence brought a profound realization to Wing’s mind. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  Pree K nodded slowly, only a hint of expression on his face. “They thought they could take everything…”

  Wing gazed with admiration upon Pree K’s bowed head. Why hadn’t I seen it before?

  “By the time I made it back to the hut, father was gone,” Pree K said.

  “I buried him,” Wing said softly.

  Pree K looked at Wing, the first hint of tears welling in the young man’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  Wing nodded.

  “Where were those families you helped escape?” Wing asked after a few moments of silence.

  “They were hiding in the trees waiting to be led to the caves. Even under the circumstances, it took some doing to convince them.”

  “How did you know about the caves — I mean, that they were more than legend?”

  Pree K’s eyes smiled a little. “It’s a small valley.”

  Chapter 84

  Preparations

  T he next day, Carly and the young men were busy at work again on the barn.

  “Here En’t, take this board, will you?” Carly said.

  En’t took hold of the board, catching sight of Nien and Wing crossing the fields.

  “We can try it, Wing,” Nien was saying.

  “What’s the verdict?” Carly asked as they walked up.

  “Quieness,” Nien said.

  “But one of the young men needs to be able to go because we three need to take the rest to Legran where they’ll be safe.”

  Carly nodded, so far, they’d all been living on the edge of their luck for every day they stayed in Rieeve raised the chances they’d be discovered by the Ka’ull. It would be, they felt, at least one more turn before any of the young men would be strong enough to make the long trip to Quieness. With the brothers and herself, the children may be able to start the trip to Legran about the same time.

  In the meantime, however, there was much construction that needed to be done — especially for as few of them as there were to do it. If the other valleys agreed to help, those that came first would need quarters and shelter for themselves and their supplies. They would also need a place to repair weapons and armour.

  Around the table that evening, Wing voiced the need for a messenger to go to Quieness.

  “To SiQQiy?” Jhock asked.

  “E’te. She is returning to Quieness as we speak. She should arrive next turn. There is information she needs — from us.”

  “You need one of us to go,” Pree K said.

  Wing nodded. He knew all three of the young men would volunteer, but he could see in their faces that they were, at the same time, hesitant.

  “I know you’re worried about leaving the children, but SiQQiy needs to know the situation here, in Rieeve, as does Master Monteray.”

  “So, you need one of us to go to Quieness and one of us to go to Legran?”

  “Yes. Except, we will probably be taking everyone to Legran, to stay, until Rieeve is safe.”

  The three young men exchanged looks.

  “I can tell you right now the kids aren’t going to like that,” Jhock said.

  “He’s right,” Pree K agreed. “They’re going to want to stay here with you.”

  “We can all talk to them,” Wing suggested.

  “Meantime, the answer for whom will go to Quieness is easy. That will be me.”

  Voice low and tight, Jhock said, “We should talk about it, Pree K.”

  Wing watched as Pree K and Jhock looked at each other. The two had been through a great deal together while living in the caves keeping the last of their people alive.

  “It has to be me, Jhock,” Pree K said. “Time is of the essence and, other than Nien, I’m the only one here who’s already been there. Besides, Wing and Nien might need someone to go to Legran when they, inevitably, fail at convincing the children to go.” He cast a playful eye in Wing’s direction.

  Wing sighed. “We’ll discuss that tomorrow.”

  Carly began clearing plates from the table. “That’s a good idea. Let’s all of us get some slee
p.”

  As night settled in, Wing had set to building up the fire when the three older boys returned from the barn where they’d been, or so Wing assumed, hashing out the decision Pree K had made to be the one to go to Quieness. En’t was arguing with his little sister, Fe, over her wanting a snack even though she’d refused to eat dinner, while Carly helped Hagen into a long over shirt. Next to Wing, sitting quietly on her bedroll, Lily said without preamble, “It’s not fair.”

  Wing, along with the rest, glanced in her direction. There was a moment of quiet as the other conversations in the room died away.

  A corner of her blanket wound in a tight ball around her fists, Lily didn’t look up as she continued in a tight, angry voice, “Pree K shouldn’t go. And we shouldn’t go either. Everybody’s already gone.” She paused a moment. “Eosha should have saved them.” She looked up at Wing. “I thought Eosha sent you to save them.”

  Wing felt the blood stall in his veins.

  Across the room, he heard Pree K start to say something but he stumbled over his words.

  “Lily,” Jhock said, scolding her softly.

  “There was nothing any of us could have done,” Carly said to Lily, though Wing felt her eyes on him.

  Gathering his thoughts, Wing pushed himself slowly to his feet and, stepping over, sat down next to her.

  “Lily,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, “I’m sorry that I could not save our people. I did what I could, but it was not enough.”

  Lily lowered her head.

  Wing felt the eyes of the others upon him; he could tell they were more worried for him than Lily, but Wing was more worried for Lily. He wished there was something he could tell her, though what that could be he had no idea, because it wasn’t just about Pree K going to Quieness. Nor was it about her believing he was Merehr. It was about much more than that. Not only had their families, their way of life, their land been taken the night the Ka’ull came to Rieeve, it had also stripped them of every truth they’d ever clung to. If Eosha was real, why hadn’t he interceded? If he wasn’t, then what did that mean? If Wing was Merehr, what did that mean? And if he wasn’t…?

  It only seemed clear that they and their people had been wrong about everything.

  Wing had gone through the same crises of belief in the mountains after he’d escaped Rieeve. At first, his rage saw him through. Then, in Legran, he had come to see that whether Eosha was real or not, was irrelevant. That whether he was Merehr or not was also irrelevant. Still none of that would help Lily at the moment.

  “I know, Lily. It isn’t fair. I’m sorry. I wish it could have been different.”

  “Then why?” She looked up from the knot in her blanket and stared Wing in the eye. “Don’t you know? I mean, aren’t you supposed to know…?”

  As Merehr, Wing thought. I’m supposed to know because I’m Merehr. The tension in the room felt palpable. “I can tell you what I think, Lily, but I don’t know that it will help. You miss your family. You miss our people. That’s a good thing.”

  “Tell me what you think, then,” Lily said, persistent.

  There was no way Wing could say what he knew, what he’d seen, what had happened to him on the bank of the river in Legran. He hunted himself for some portion of the truth he could tell her, anything that might make her feel better.

  “I think they know you’re sad. I think they know you miss them.”

  “You think my Fa can see me?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “You think he misses me?”

  “Of course. Of course, he does.”

  Lily glanced up at him. “Did you know him?”

  “Your Fa?”

  “Yes.”

  “Only a little. Do you want to tell me about him?”

  Lily was quiet a moment. And then she began her tale. The cabin was silent, listening, and Wing wondered if they had talked about the ones they lost that night in the castle. If they’d talked about the ones they lost in the caves.

  When Lily was done she released the death grip she’d had on the blanket and leaned against Wing’s side.

  Wing pressed her thin body against his, cradling her head in his hand.

  Raising her head again, she said, “But you have to stay now. I’ve told Eosha not to take you. All right?”

  “All right,” Wing said, throat tightening.

  “And you can’t send Pree K or Jhock or En’t away either. You can’t.”

  “I can’t promise that, Lily. We need their help,” Wing replied. Lily’s face soured. “I know you’ve been brave. We need you to continue to be brave.”

  “I’m sick of being brave,” she growled.

  Wing almost laughed. “Would you go to Quieness if you knew it would keep Pree K and the rest of us keep safe?”

  She was quiet a moment and then said softly, “E’te. But I can’t. I can’t do…anything.”

  Wing patted her arm gently. “Of course, you can. And the first thing you can do is continue to eat and sleep and get strong again, and help us out around here. We have a lot to do to prepare for those who will be coming from the other valleys.”

  Lily sighed. She wasn’t happy about it but at least she wasn’t arguing with him.

  “Now,” Wing said. “To sleep. Even if you’re not, I’m exhausted.”

  Lily conceded and, curling up in her blanket, pulled it over her head as if to block out the confusion she still felt and the answers she did not get or had not wanted to hear.

  Following hugs and blankets tucked under the chins of Fe and Hagen the house fell into silence once more. En’t had taken to braiding a length of leather into rope near the fire. Jhock also sat beside the fire, busy at nothing, gazing into the soft orange flames. Pree K was lying on his bedroll, and though his eyes were closed, Wing could tell he was not sleeping.

  As the conversation between Wing, Carly, and Nien lagged, Jhock said, “Why not just tell her the truth?”

  “The truth?” Wing asked.

  Jhock met Wing’s eyes with determination though it was clear it was not easy for him to make such a challenge of Wing — of Merehr. “That if Eosha exists than he thinks we deserved what happened to all of us. Or, he does not exist at all, and it was all a lie.”

  Shocked at first, Wing managed to soften his tone as he replied, “Jhock, it may not be one or the other.”

  “What else is there?”

  Wing drew a breath. “Much. Far more than I could have explained to Lily. I didn’t lie to her, Jhock. It doesn’t mean I told her everything.”

  “So, tell me, then.”

  Wing swallowed. It had been hard enough explaining to Nien what he’d been shown, what he knew after his experience on the edge of the river in Legran. It would be impossible to do so for Jhock. Wing had been given a glimpse of the shiftings of energy, of the worlds, of motion so vast it was incomprehensible to a consciousness confined to a single mind and the filters of its individual personality.

  “The simplest answer would be to say that our people are well. That their lives were murdered. Taken. But that they still exist. In essence, they still are.” Wing paused. “But it’s cruel to tell you that, isn’t it? Because, for us here, now, they aren’t real anymore. We can’t see them. Touch them. Talk with them. For us, it’s not all right. We are not well.”

  Jhock’s face was as pained as Wing had ever seen it. “No,” he muttered. “No, it isn’t all right.” His voice broke with an emotion so immense he could barely contain it. “None of it makes sense. In my mind, I hear what my parents would have said, what the Council would have said. But it feels really stupid and hollow and, honestly, it makes me furious. Made up and applied like a bandage to a wound.” He shook his head and seemed to lose a little of his bluster. “Or, maybe, it’s that no one really knows, so they figured a lie was better than nothing.”

  Pree K’s eyes were open, but he had not made any attempt to join the conversation. En’t had gone still, the rope he was braiding resting, forgotten, over his knees.
r />   Wing glanced at Carly. The look on her face was as helpless and sad as Wing felt. Wing brushed some ash from the fireplace off his pants.

  “I won’t mollify you, Jhock,” Wing said. “When I escaped the valley that night, when I was hiding in the Mesko Forest, in a tree’s grotto, I had to tell myself things to keep going. I had to give myself a mission, I guess. So, what lies did you tell yourself when you were living in the caves? What kept you going?”

  Jhock wrung his hands in his lap; it was clear Wing’s question only served to frustrate him further. “I don’t know!” he barked. “I wish I did! I wish I could make sense of it. Yosha…” Tears had gathered in the young man’s eyes. He swiped roughly at his face and sniffed. “I apologize, Wing. I…the truth is I didn’t tell myself lies, I lied to the children, too. Just like the adults lied to me. They asked us — well, they asked Pree K mostly — Why? Why it had happened. Why Eosha had allowed it to happen. And I didn’t know. I had no idea. So, I told them what I thought would help, but inside I, well, I stopped believing it. I stopped believing in Eosha and the Ancient Writings. Everything.” He drew a ragged breath. “I decided it was pretty easy for our parents and the Council to tell us whatever they wanted to when we were growing up because everything was easy then. And, back then, it was easy for us to believe. But after the Ka’ull came it wasn’t easy anymore. Nothing was. And well, after that night it didn’t really matter that nothing mattered — we just had to survive.”

  “E’te,” Wing admitted. It had been the same for him living in the mountains after that night and he hadn’t had the burden of old folk and children to look after.

  “It’s almost worse now,” Jhock said. “Now I have time to think about it.”

  “I understand,” Wing said. He wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword, feeling the cool leather and metal. “I don’t think our people lied to us on purpose, Jhock. I think they believed what they said. But maybe it’s not such a bad thing that you don’t believe it anymore. Where one belief ends a new one begins. That might be the only sense in the chaos of life.”